ruby variable as same object (pointers?)

Question

>> a = 5
=> 5
>> b = a
=> 5
>> b = 4
=> 4
>> a
=> 5

how can I set \'b\' to actually be \'a\' so that in the exa

Answer 1

You can't. Variables hold references to values, not references to other variables.

Here's what your example code is doing:

a = 5 # Assign the value 5 to the variable named "a".
b = a # Assign the value in the variable "a" (5) to the variable "b".
b = 4 # Assign the value 4 to the variable named "b".
a # Retrieve the value stored in the variable named "a" (5).

See this article for a more in-depth discussion of the topic: pass by reference or pass by value.